[thomemitch]

Hello all-
My first post here, and I was hoping someone could help out with a little info.
I purchased a 69 220D about a year ago. I found "Chester" while riding my bike around, saw him on a lot with a for sale sign. He had come to the lot from a parking garage auction in 2005- the original owner had stopped paying the parking fee and the garage seized and sold the car, and there he sat for 2 years, so technically I consider myself the second owner.
Chester had always been garaged, and has flawless service records. There is minimal rust, the body is solid, and only one small dent and scrape on the passenger's side rear quarter panel. The grille is a little dinged up and the chrome is as well, but very minor.
He definitely could use a paint job, there is some crackling on the trunk and fading on the hood and roof, which resulted from sitting on the lot for 2 years. The interior is in very good condition, the original upholstery has some wear, the headliner is intact, dash and steering wheel have some minor cracking.

He has a newly rebuilt engine (timing chain was bad), brakes, some suspension work, etc. My intent is to fully restore him, and I have invested about 6,000 over the last 6 months.
Unfortunately about 3 weeks ago, someone decided to take a left-hand turn in front of me- I swerved, she swerved, and we ended up hitting almost head-on. Chester's driver's side headlight, quarter panel, fender and door were all damaged
Her insurance company has decided to declare him totaled and are offering me what i consider to be an almost insulting amount. They have all pertinent receipts and service records showing all the work I've had done, but they've determined this work to be "maintenence". I've provided them with ads for similar cars for sale to determine a fair market value, etc., but I'd appreciate any input anyone could give into getting a somewhat solid number together to counter-offer them with. They're very anxious to get this over and done with, but I'm going to try to stand firm as long as possible.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Mogasaurus]

My 71 250/8 gasser is worth ~$4000 tops as far as any appraiser is concerned. It had almost $12000 of resto work done on it to make it factory new in the early 1990's...

I suspect the older oil-burner 114 is worth even less, unfortunately.

Sorry for your loss...

 

[E-Class Owner]

Sorry to hear of your loss...

You have run up against one of the larger "down side" issues of driving a "vintage" Mercedes. I faced the same dilemma in deciding if I was going to put a great deal of money into my 1970 250/8, or sell the car; I knew that in a "total" situation, I would get virtually nothing for the car and eventually sold it. Neither car, yours or my former one, are "collector cars".

The "Gold Book" values for your car are as follows:

1969 MERCEDES-BENZ 220D Dsp/HP Eng Fair Good Exc Show Loan
SEDAN 1967-76 2.2/60 4C 1,800 3,000 5,500 8,000 2,500

Suffice it to say that your car does not appear to be in Excellent or Show condition...

You are correct in fighting back with advertisements for similar cars, etc.

One option, if you love the car, is to allow the "total," buy the car from the insurance company and then undertake the repairs. Or, find another 220D that has a bad engine and do a "transplant" from Chester, so at least a part of him can live on...

Good luck,

JR

 

[q45denver]

Some companies can be difficult to deal with, but I think if you press them they will pay you for the capital improvements you put in over the last six months.

 

[thomemitch]

thank you

Thanks everyone for the info- your numbers were about in-line with what my thinking was and much higher than what they're offering. I appreciate the feedback!

 

[Mogasaurus]

Here's the 'source' for those values - these guys are pretty accurate in value.

Gold Book Classic Cars

 

[P4olom]

has an appraiser come to see the car yet? If not I really think you should clean up the car as best as you can to "show off" the real value. Clean the engine interior, exterior, scrub the tires whatever you can do. Good luck to you. Sorry for your loss I'm sure it can be fixed no problem.

 

[thomemitch]

re:appraiser

Hey p4olom-
we keep him garaged and clean as possibe- unfortunately, this is what he looks like now- he's at the shop getting hammered out and welded. the missing headlight had been replaced the day before the accident
well hindsight being what it is, i will definitely update my insurance coverage and get an appraisal asap.

 

[E-Class Owner]

How much was the quote...

on the entire job?

The damage does not look so extensive as to mandate a "total". Where is your insurance company in all this? They should be your advocate in dealing with the other insurance company.

Some years ago, my son had purchased an Acura Legend at auction, and spent a good bit of money and time getting her in "good nick". He was hit and ended up with a total, two doors and significant frame damage.

The other party was found to be at fault, and their insurance company tried the same sort of crap you are dealing with. Our insurance company went to bat for us; because the car had been purchased at auction in a clearly inferior condition, and we provided substantial documentation of all the money that went into improving the vehicle, we finally got a decent settlement. They covered the cost of the car and all the parts, outside repairs, etc., that went into it... he lost all his "labor." which was not insignificant.

Insurance companies are basically ruthless bastards at heart, and will always low ball you on a settlement in hopes that you will take their offer and get on with your life.

If you were not found to be at fault, get your documentation in order and fight them, it may prove to be well worth your while to do so.

Good luck,

JR

 

[thomemitch]

quote for the job

Hi JR-
sorry i've been out of town the last week.
Their estimate for the repair was 1500-:rotfl:
However i did find out from my body guy that they took all kinds of shortcuts in filling out the paperwork and did some shady things, so I do have that to my advantage. He has yet to even track down replacement parts, so I'm waiting on his estimate and should have it in the next few days. They say that the "total" is because the repair will cost more than 75% of their initial valuation.

They were nice as could be when this all started, but the more I push back, the more i get transfered around to more gruff and rude people. the other driver was 100% at fault (both the police and her insurance company say so) but she has disappeared from the face of the earth and has not contacted them or cooperated at all with the investigation.

Luckily the car's going to be in the shop for a few months, so i do have time to fight them over this. My next step will be pressuring my insurance to step up for me as well, especially since i'm paying premiums on a car that i'm not driving for the next 3 or 4 months.

Thanks for all the advice- I really appreciate it.